Minutes from the June 14th meeting of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
Zimfest News Blog
Rutondedzo – In Remembrance of Marian Grebanier
Dear Zimfest community,
We write with heavy hearts to acknowledge and honor a member of the community who has recently passed away: Marian Grebanier (1935 – 2026) joined the ancestors on July 15 surrounded by her loving family of children, grandchildren, and great grandchild. We offer heartfelt condolences to her family and many friends, both within the Zimfest community and beyond, as Marian, with her gentle Elder’s wisdom, touched so many during her years with us. Those of us on Facebook were especially grateful to Marian’s daughter Melanie and son Benno who first posted on her profile page that she was in the process of transitioning one week earlier, and invited all to post comments and memories to be shared with her. You may read the many Facebook messages posted by Marian’s friends (on the Marian Grebanier page), as well as a wonderful tribute and life story posted by Benno on behalf of her extended family.
Marian became a beloved elder in this community she helped to build, having brought Zimbabwean marimba and mbira playing to the Portland area. She formed Boka Marimba in 1987 after hearing Dumi Maraire and his Seattle band. Mbira playing came later, and her group Njuzu is remembered fondly by many Zimfest goers. She hosted many visiting Zimbabwean musicians in the ensuing decades. Marian carried the spirit of Zimbabwean music within her and mentored many others who came into contact with her. When Zimfest was hosted at Reed College in Portland, she assisted the organizing committee and joined the Board of the Zimfest Association, contributing greatly to the functioning of the board as well as the annual festival.
Marian playing mbira at Zimfest 2016
(Photo by the late Karen Wolf)
Marian will be deeply missed by many, and we salute her. Nematambudziko.
Zororai murunyararo – Rest in Peace, Marian.
Claire Jones on behalf of the Zimfest Association Board of Directors
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May Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the May 17th meeting of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
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Zimfest 2025 Recording on Bandcamp
Greetings Zimfest community,
It’s been a minute!
Although 2026 is an off year for Zimfest, members of the Zimfest Association Board have been busy preparing a digital recording from Zimfest 2025 for download – to provide a memorable record of the festival at CWU, and as a fund-raising project.
We are ecstatic to announce the release of Zimfest 2025 : Music Dancing Across Borders – check it out here on bandcamp.
The recording includes one piece from each of the 12 performing groups on the evening stage from August 8-10, 2025 and is available for only $12 – pay more if you wish to donate more to the Zimfest cause!
Bandcamp only allows limited space for text, so we have prepared liner notes giving info on each chosen piece in the performers’ words.* You can download the liner notes here on the Zimfest website.
We have so many people to thank for this project: Thaddeus Moore and Liquid Audio of Eugene for the live audio; Alex Weeks for concert production and making the audio available to us; Stephen Spitalny for mixing and mastering (BIG thanks for Steve’s alacrity and quality of mixes); and of course all the performers, many of them composers and/or arrangers, for permission to share their music with you online as well as live!
*P.S. A couple of Zimfest music lovers have commented on a potential misspelling in the liner notes for performers on #3, “Thula Sizwe: Lucky, Tsungi, Mike and Friends.” Note that ‘Tsungi’ is Lucky Moyo’s nickname for Tsungai Tsikirai, and ‘Mike’ is his nickname for Michael Sibanda.
Best regards,
Zimfest 2025 Recordings Squad
Caden Davis
Parker Ediger
Claire Jones
Charlie Keziah
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April Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the April 12th meeting of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
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March Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the March 8th meeting of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
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February Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the February 8th meeting of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
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January Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the January 11th meeting of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
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Zimfest Fundraising Campaign – Thank You!
To all those who have contributed to our Zimfest Fundraising campaign, a heartfelt thanks! Your generosity, along with the generosity of several donors who provided matching funds, has provided the Zimfest Association with a grand total of $7,799 for this campaign, according to our Treasurer, Heather Steele. This is almost enough to cover the deficit sustained after Zimfest 2025, and we are so grateful for your contributions! Tatenda, Siyabonga, and Thank You so much!
P.S. Just because the fundraising campaign is over, this does not mean you can’t donate to Zimfest. Of course you can! So if you happened to win the lottery or received a particularly nice Christmas bonus, you can support Zimfest 2027 by donating here.
Maria Minnaar Bailey
Interim President
Zimfest Association Board of Directors
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December Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the December 14th meeting of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
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Thank You Adrienne
On behalf of everyone on the Zimfest Association Board, I would like express my heartfelt thanks to Adrienne Stewart, who has completed a two-year term on the Zimfest Board of Directors, and now needs to step off due to other commitments.
Adrienne has served in leadership positions on multiple other nonprofit boards. With her skills in governance, accounting and project management, she has done much to help further the goals of Zimfest during these past two years. I am personally in awe of her intimate familiarity with Roberts Rules of Order, which stems from the fact that she has actually read the entire 700-plus page volume!
When the Z.A. Board found itself in need of a new President, with nobody volunteering for the position, we came up with the idea of a rotating Presidency. Each interim President would serve four months of the year in turn, presiding over Board meetings and performing other presidential duties. Adrienne stepped up to the plate right away, and along with Tendai Muparutsa and me, she has been one of our three Presidents for the past two years. As the current President during Zimfest 2025, she did a beautiful job presiding over our Village Meeting, in addition to volunteering tirelessly during the festival itself. In fact, if you went to any evening concerts at Zimfest 2025, Adrienne was probably the one who took your ticket and stamped your arm.
We greatly appreciate her service, and all her knowledge of governance that she has freely shared with us. She assures us that she will still be volunteering at future Zimfests, and we look forward to seeing her there!
With deepest gratitude,
Maria Minnaar Bailey
Interim President
Zimfest Association Board of Directors
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September, October and November Board Meeting Minutes
Minutes from the September 14th, October 12th and November 9th meetings of the Zimfest Association board of directors have been posted.
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